


The Skill of Deduction

by texadian



Series: Sherlolly Chats [4]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Chats, Dialogue, F/M, Fluff, Series, tumblr original
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 10:32:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3378290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/texadian/pseuds/texadian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A carnival performer reveals more about Sherlock than is expected. </p>
<p>Part of a series of dialogue fics revolving around all the Sherlolly goodness. (Most of these were originally posted on Tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Skill of Deduction

**Author's Note:**

> Posted in October, 2014.

**Sherlock:** You shouldn’t have come Molly. *turns to John* She shouldn’t have come.

**Molly:** *frowns*

**John:** Sherlock, *sternly* we need her help identifying the killer. Unless you acquired a doctorate in medicine last night, we need her here.

**Sherlock:** *grumbling to himself* It’s too dangerous for her to be here.

**John:** *baffled* It’s a carnival Sherlock, not a criminal’s house or a dodgy side alley.

**Sherlock:** Fine, John. Whatever you say. You are the expert observer… oh wait, that’s me.

**Molly:** *awkwardly between the two* I can go if you’d like. I mean, you two are probably qualified to spot the correct limp in the suspect’s gait due to the injury sustained while killing the victim.

**Sherlock:** Yes, we would like that.

**John:** Enough Sherlock! *turns to Molly* You are still the most qualified specialist to deal with this though, so don’t listen to that git over there. Please stay and help. If we don’t spot the guy in the next ten minutes, we can leave. I too am not a fan of clowns, loud noises, or screaming children.

**Molly:** Okay.

**Sherlock:** Fine.

**John:** Great! *clasps hands together* Let’s get looking then.

~The group passes by different acts like magicians, contortionists, and finally a strange man with beat-up jeans and a pasty green blazer~

**Man:** *to Sherlock* Would you bet that I can guess your age down to the month, sir?

**Sherlock:** *hastily* No.

**Man:** Are you sure? Tell you what: you give me two pounds and if I can’t guess your age right, I’ll give you your money back and let you pick out a prize for your girl. *turns to Molly*

**Molly:** *blushes* I am not his girl.

**Sherlock:** *ignores Molly’s comment* How about no.

**Man:** Fine, fine. You don’t believe me then? I’ll show you for free. *turns to John* “33 years old… doctor! Very impressive. Oh, and by the looks of it you just got married, congratulations.

**Sherlock:** *not impressed* That was child’s play. The ring on his middle finger gave it all away. It’s a high school ring making it a fairly simple calculation to determine age based on graduation date. He has been fiddling with it since we met you and the ring slides around fairly easily suggesting he takes it off a lot for some form of work. The most obvious occupation is doctor, although there are far more jobs that it could have been linked to; lucky guess. And lastly, the only other spot on his hand that he has found any interest in is his ring finger. The marriage band is clearly new to him, given the fact that he smiles faintly every time he touches it.

**Man:** *scowls* It was much trickier than that.

**Sherlock:** Oh, I’m sure it was… for a simple minded man like yourself.

**John:** *to himself* Please don’t fight. Please don’t fight.

**Man:** Alright then, what do you observe about me?

**John:** *sighs and covers his face discreetly*

**Sherlock:** Beat up jeans suggests that you are either low on money or are going for a young person’s look. Based on the expensive, but horribly obnoxious blazer, I’d say the latter. You live at home with your parents and one… no two dogs. You grew up in a rougher side of town and those habits you grew up with peak through even though they are not necessary anymore. And finally, you are afraid because no one has intimidated you this much before in your current line of work, which might I add, has been paying your bills for the last 2 years. *grins cheekily and looks over at Molly to boast*

**Man:** *clenching his fists* Lucky guess.

**Sherlock:** On the contrary. Your guesses were lucky, mine were based on observation. It is a skill that you only have a rudimentary knowledge of.

**Man:** Fine, then I guess I’ll just _get lucky_ with you then, huh?

**Sherlock:** *laughs* Funny. *turns to John* A real hoot.

**Man:** You are 32 years old. You live alone and you have a dysfunctional relationship with a sibling, probably your sister. You take advantage of others using your intellect, so you have very few friends. You are rude to your best friend *turns to John* to avoid vulnerability and handle your feelings immaturely when it comes to the woman you love. *turns to Molly*

~Dead silence between all four~

**Molly:** *eyes grow wide like an expanding raindrop hitting the ground*

**John:** *with mouth agape, looks back and forth between Sherlock and Molly*

**Man:** I was right, wasn’t I. *smiles crookedly*

**Sherlock:** Impressive, but you missed one important fact in that deduction.

**Molly:** *eyes droop and growing smile disappears*

**John:** *prepares himself for impending remark*

**Sherlock:** I have an older brother, not a sister.  

 


End file.
